Scottish Executive

Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it anticipates bringing into force all of the provisions of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000.

Iain Gray: As indicated in the answer to question S1W-12490 on 29 January 2001, we will bring forward the commencement order in due course. The Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 is the first part of our programme of property law reform, and we will assess the appropriate date for commencement when the next Bill in the programme – the Title Conditions Bill – has been enacted. The consultation exercise on the draft Title Conditions Bill concluded on 23 July, and the responses to consultation are being analysed with a view to introduction as soon as an opportunity arises in the legislative programme. Due to the transitional arrangements that will have to be made, it is unlikely that either piece of legislation will be fully in effect until two to three years have elapsed.

Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any possible benefits arising from the delayed introduction of all of the provisions of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 are outweighed by the continued possession of powers of feudal superiors to extract payment from vassals in exchange for the grant of Minutes of Waiver.

Iain Gray: The delay is required in order to allow transitional arrangements to be put in place. Both the Scottish Law Commission and the Law Society of Scotland have suggested that commencement of the 2000 Act should be delayed for a period of at least two years to allow for these arrangements.

  It was always apparent that the provisions of the 2000 Act on feudal burdens might be affected by the proposed Title Conditions Bill. It would be unfair and undesirable to allow superiors to go to the expense and effort of identifying properties for which they could register notices to preserve burdens, when the position for feudal burdens might be amended by the Title Conditions Bill. We also undertook to reconsider certain aspects of the 2000 Act which were criticised during its passage. To implement Part 4 of the Act (on real burdens) now would ignore these legitimate concerns.

  It is possible at present for vassals to apply, under section 1 of the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970, to seek an order from the Lands Tribunal for Scotland to vary or discharge a land obligation. The Tribunal will grant such an order if it is satisfied that the burden is unreasonable, inappropriate, unduly burdensome or impedes some reasonable use of the land.

  Scottish ministers remain wholly committed to the reform of the land tenure system in Scotland and any delay is restricted to that which is essential in order to ensure an orderly and sensible transition.

Aggregates Tax

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the level of Aggregates Tax will have on local government finance and, in particular, whether it will cause increases to council tax and/or non-domestic rates as a result of potential building and maintenance costs to be met by local authorities.

Peter Peacock: The financial impact of Aggregates Tax on local authorities will depend on their individual purchasing policies. The aim of the new tax is to promote a change of behaviour amongst purchasers by encouraging the use of recycled aggregates and other alternative materials in place of virgin quarried aggregates. It will have no impact on council tax.

  The non-domestic rate poundage is set by the Scottish Parliament, and there is no reason for this to change as a consequence of the Aggregates Tax.

Aggregates Tax

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many quarries there are in Scotland; what the name and location of each quarry is; how many quarries it anticipates will be in operation five years after the introduction of the Aggregates Tax, and what consideration it has given to the impact of any closures of quarries on the environment.

Ross Finnie: Information on the number, names and locations of quarries in Scotland can be found in the British Geological Survey’s Directory of Mines and Quarries 1998 . A copy of this is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 17129). We are not able to predict the economic impacts of a tax measure on individual quarries, and assessing the broader impact on the quarrying industry is the responsibility of HM Treasury. The Executive will be monitoring closely the extent to which the environmental objectives of the tax are achieved.

Aggregates Tax

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were employed in the construction industry in each of the last four years and how many people it estimates will be employed in each of the four years following the introduction of the Aggregates Tax in 2002.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The Labour Force Survey, run by the Office of National Statistics, shows that the number of people employed in the construction industry in Scotland (including employees, self-employed, and government trainees), is approximately 180,000. Forecasts compiled by independent sources estimate that construction employment in Scotland could grow by up to 10% over the next few years.

Aggregates Tax

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made representations to the European Commission in respect of the impact on the Scottish economy of the introduction of the Aggregates Tax at a flat rate levy of £1.60 per ton, given the lower rate levied in some other European Countries.

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made representations to Her Majesty's Government in relation to the introduction of the Aggregates Tax from April 2002 at a flat rate levy of £1.60 per ton in Scotland, in particular on whether the European Commission has advised whether the £1.60 per ton flat rate levy in Scotland would constitute a breach of European law and, specifically, constitute a discriminatory barrier against free trade and a breach of competition law.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including the Aggregates Tax. Responsibility for dealing with the European Commission on UK taxation matters lies with HM Treasury.

Drug Courts

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are for the establishment of a second pilot drug court now that referrals are being made to the drug court in Glasgow.

Iain Gray: A second pilot drug court will be established in Fife. The plans are for it to be in operation by summer of 2002. It will follow the Glasgow model building on the experience of establishing the Glasgow Drug Court.

Employment

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received about any difficulties encountered in recruiting staff when major new retail developments are opened.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive has received one piece of correspondence on this issue.

Enterprise

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken, or intends to undertake, into the particular problems of delivering goods purchased using e-retailing, particularly in rural areas.

Ms Wendy Alexander: E-retailing offers significant opportunities to rural residents, who will have increased choice of goods for purchase. Mail-order shopping, which faces the same delivery situation as e-retailing, is and has always been very popular in rural Scotland. There is therefore no apparent significant difficulty regarding delivery of goods purchased electronically to remoter parts of Scotland.

  Since January this year, the Scottish Household Survey has asked detailed questions about what the internet is used for currently and what it is likely to be used for in future. The results of these questions will be analysed and broken down by geographical area. This will help show whether residents of remoter areas shop online less than their urban counterparts. Results will be published after data analysis is completed.

Enterprise

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made, or plans to make, of the impact of economic globalisation on the Scottish economy and whether it will publish the results of any such assessment.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Assessments of trends in the global economy are published regularly in the Executive’s Scottish Economic Report . An assessment of the economic impact of the terrorist attacks was published by the Executive last month. Our policy approach was recently set out in Scotland: A Global Connections Strategy . It makes it clear that we want to see Scotland recognised as the most globally connected small nation in Europe.

Female Offenders

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to reduce the number of women being imprisoned.

Iain Gray: A ministerial group, which I chair, has been set up to tackle the specific issue of women’s offending. It is looking at a range of measures to encourage the appropriate use of alternatives to custody for female offenders. The group is due to complete its work in December and will report shortly thereafter.

Female Offenders

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what alternatives to imprisonment are (a) in place and (b) planned in order to reduce the number of women imprisoned.

Iain Gray: A broad range   of   community disposals are available across Scotland for both female and male offenders. These include probation, community service orders and supervised attendance orders for female and male fine defaulters who might otherwise be facing a custodial sentence. Drug Treatment and Testing Orders and Restriction of Liberty Orders are also currently available in a number of courts. We have provided funding for diversion from prosecution schemes to allow all procurators fiscal access to local schemes and made female accused one of the four target groups.

  We are now moving forward with plans for the national roll-out of Restriction of Liberty Orders by May next year, and I have announced the extension of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders to a further seven sheriff courts. We are also considering funding structured work for deferred sentences and further developments in the use of supervised attendance orders.

  The Ministerial Group on Women Offenders, which I chair, is looking at a range of measures to encourage the use of alternatives to custody specifically for women offenders.

Female Offenders

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific funding is available in its current budget for providing alternatives to imprisonment for women.

Iain Gray: The   total   budget   provided   by the Executive for alternatives to custody amounts to £50.1 million in the present year. This funds a broad range of community disposals for both female and male offenders. With the exception of the programmes listed below, it is not possible to identify specific funding packages in respect of female accused/offenders:

  Turnaround Project in Glasgow (£141,321) for female drug misusing accused/offenders;

  Glasgow Intensive Support Services for Vulnerable Young Women (£30,000) – this funding is in respect of 16 to 17-year-olds and represents a funding contribution to a project which also deals with under 16s;

  South Ayrshire Intensive Probation Project for Women Offenders (£19,003).

Female Offenders

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Annual Report of the Cornton Vale (Under 21) Visiting Committee, what its position is regarding the concerns expressed over the adequacy of the prisoner food allowance and what is being done to address this issue.

Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The per capita food budget provides prisoners at Cornton Vale with three meals a day. Four choices are available at lunch and tea times including a "Scottish Slimmers" and "healthy options" choice. Fresh fruit and vegetables are available daily. All religious and dietary needs can also be catered for.

  The Cornton Vale catering team were this year awarded Charter Mark for the quality of their service.

Female Offenders

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Annual Report of the Cornton Vale (Under 21) Visiting Committee, what initiatives have been taken to provide a specialist regime for young women offenders.

Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Skye House is due to open as a dedicated Young Offender Unit in November 2001.

  The facility will feature:

  A designated manager with specific responsibilities for young women offenders.

  A staff group specially selected and trained to work with young women offenders.

  An induction and assessment process aimed specifically at young women offenders.

  A regime aligned to meet identified needs.

  Increased access to educational opportunities.

  Support to assist in addressing offending behaviour, addictions, family problems and other matters.

Female Offenders

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Annual Report of the Cornton Vale (under 21) Visiting Committee, what improvements have been made to the prison’s library facilities.

Iain Gray: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  A recent refurbishment of the library included repainting, the installation of new comfortable seating and carousel book display racks. Prisoners now have access to:

  2,000 books

  50 talking books

  100 video cassettes

  100 musical audio tapes

  50 CD roms

  five copies of Prison Rules & Directions

  two copies of Prison Rules (on floppy disc)

  All items are regularly changed and updated. Books not held, including any requested legal books/foreign language books are sourced through a partnership with Stirling District Council Library Services.

  Other recent additions are:

  Citizen Advice Bureau information volumes 1 to 3 which are updated every month through the establishment’s membership with the CAB.

  A "scanlab" computerised system for book management comparable to any modern local authority library.

  two PCs for prisoner access.

  A TV/video combination of previewing videos.

  A hi-fi system for pre-listening audio tapes.

  The number of borrowers presently stands at 249.

Health

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17830 by Susan Deacon on 12 October 2001, how long patients in each NHS board area will now have to wait, on average, to receive equipment for the treatment of sleep apnoea.

Susan Deacon: It is not possible to give an average waiting time in each area. Following assessment and diagnosis in their own areas, patients considered to be suffering from sleep apnoea are referred to the Sleep Centre in Edinburgh. Decisions on the need for a CPAP machine are taken at that stage. Waiting times, therefore, differ, based on the length of time taken at the various stages of the process.

Health

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-17830 by Susan Deacon on 12 October 2001, how "clinical priority" is defined with reference to sleep apnoea and whether all NHS boards use the same definition.

Susan Deacon: Definitions of clinical priority are a matter for clinicians. I understand from NHS Lothian that clinical priority in relation to sleep apnoea is defined by reference to risk categories. I further understand that this approach to clinical prioritisation has been shared with other NHS boards.

Land

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to reform the law in relation to rights of servitude and whether the power of feudal superiors and landowners in relation to the law of servitude and, in particular, on denial of rights of access should be reformed.

Iain Gray: The Executive has no plans to introduce a fundamental reform of the law relating to servitude rights, but the proposed Title Conditions (Scotland) Bill contains a number of consequential changes to the law on servitudes as a result of the reform of the law on real burdens. As drafted, the Bill will prevent the future creation of negative servitudes (which are usually restrictions on building for the protection of light or prospect), and will convert the few existing negative servitudes into real burdens. Servitudes which are expressly created by title deeds will have to be registered against both the burdened and the benefited properties. These servitudes which are constituted by registration will also no longer be restricted in type to the list of servitudes currently set out in a rule of law. The Bill will also make it clear that it is possible for a right to lead a pipe, cable or wire over land to be constituted as a positive servitude.

  The use of servitudes is not directly linked to feudal superiorities since a servitude is created for the benefit of a proprietor of land to exercise certain rights on or over adjoining land: it is not possible for a bare superiority to be the dominant tenement, or benefited property, in respect of a servitude. After the appointed day for feudal abolition, servitudes will remain an obligation enjoyed by one property in respect of another.

  Servitudes are separate from public rights of way. The law of servitudes is used to create rights for limited purposes, for example rights of access, not to deny rights of access.

  The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill will provide a right of responsible access to land and inland water for recreation and passage. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code provides guidance on the rights and responsibilities of public access. It is intended that the Bill will be introduced in Parliament shortly.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times it has met representatives of the Scottish Landowners Federation since May 1999; what subjects were discussed, and when the next draft of the Land Reform Bill will be published.

Ross Finnie: Since May 1999, the Scottish Executive has regularly met with the Scottish Landowners’ Federation and a wide variety of topics have been discussed, including land reform. I expect the Land Reform Bill to be introduced to Parliament shortly.

Less Favoured Areas

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive why the current year’s Less Favoured Area Support Scheme budget of £63.4 million is projected to underspend by £2.8 million.

Ross Finnie: The underspend arose for two reasons. 2001 was the first year of the new scheme and certain assumptions had to be made about the correct split of improved pasture and rough grazing. These were subsequently adjusted. The second reason was that the 2001 scheme limited gains to sparsely stocked farms by imposing minimum stocking densities. In 2001 this latter change reduced the area of eligible rough grazing by 24% and improved pasture by 2%.

Less Favoured Areas

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £2.8 million saved from the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme 2001 will be allocated to the 2002 budget for the scheme and whether specific consideration will be given to addressing any geographic disadvantage in the disbursement of the funds.

Ross Finnie: I intend to increase the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme budget for 2002 by £2 million - the likely underspend from 2001. The joint Industry/Executive Working Group is currently considering how this money should be used.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question SIW-9963 by Iain Gray on 12 October 2000, why the allocation to the Mental Illness Specific Grant Scheme for 2001-02 as outlined in the draft budget for 2002-03 is £13.3 million rather than £19 million as previously indicated.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Mental Illness Specific Grant is £19 million for 2001-02. The Scottish Executive pays 70% of this funding (£13.3 million) through specific grant, with the remainder being met by local authorities from general budget provision.

NHS Staff

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of senior managers in each NHS Trust took the opportunity to be vaccinated against flu and whether it will publish the results of this exercise.

Susan Deacon: The information requested is not held centrally. As was the case last year, NHS systems across Scotland are encouraging their front-line staff to take advantage of flu vaccination arrangements in time for winter.

Research Funding

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to prevent any cutback to the activity of the Scottish Place-Names Survey at Edinburgh University which may result from the current financial position of the survey.

Allan Wilson: The funding of the Scottish Place-Names Survey is a matter for the University of Edinburgh.

Road Accidents

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents have occurred on the A827 between Kenmore and Killin in each of the last five years.

Sarah Boyack: Data about injury road accidents are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the STATS 19 statistical report form. These returns cover only road accidents in which one or more people were injured: they do not cover damage only accidents.

  The table gives the numbers of road accidents which were identified in the STATS 19 returns as occurring on the stretch of the A827 between the mid point of Killin and the mid point of Kenmore, over the period 1996 to 2000 inclusive.

  It should be noted that the statistics given in the table are based upon the data which are held in the central statistical database and which were collected by the police at the time of the accident and subsequently reported to the Executive. They may differ from any figures which the local authority would provide now, because they do not take account of any subsequent changes or corrections that the local authority may have made to the statistical information, for use at local level, about the location of each accident, based upon its knowledge of the road and area concerned.

  


Year 
  

Number of injury road accidents that occurred 
  on the A827 between the mid point of Killin and the mid 
  point of Kenmore 
  



1996 
  

6 
  



1997 
  

2 
  



1998 
  

9 
  



1999 
  

5 
  



2000 
  

4

Road Accidents

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many road accidents have occurred on the A907 between (a) Causewayhead and Alloa and (b) Alloa and Dunfermline in each of the last five years.

Sarah Boyack: Data about injury road accidents are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the STATS 19 statistical report form. These returns cover only road accidents in which one or more people were injured: they do not cover damage only accidents.

  The table gives the numbers of road accidents which were identified in the STATS 19 returns as occurring on the stretch of the A907 between (a) Causewayhead (junction with the A9) and Alloa (junction with the B9096); and between (b) Alloa (junction with the B9096) and Dunfermline (junction with the A823 at Pilmuir Street) over the period 1996 to 2000 inclusive.

  It should be noted that the statistics given in the table are based upon the data which are held in the central statistical database, and which were collected by the police at the time of the accident and subsequently reported to the Executive. They may differ from any figures which the local authority would provide now, because they do not take account of any subsequent changes or corrections that the local authority may have made to the statistical information, for use at local level, about the location of each accident, based upon its knowledge of the road and area concerned.

  


Year 
  

Number of injury road accidents that occurred 
  on the A907 between Causewayhead (junction with the A9) 
  and Alloa (junction with the B9096) 
  

Number of injury road accidents that occurred 
  on the A907 between Alloa (junction with the B9096) and 
  Dunfermline (junction with the A823 at Pilmuir Street) 
  



1996 
  

10 
  

23 
  



1997 
  

16 
  

15 
  



1998 
  

9 
  

24 
  



1999 
  

11 
  

14 
  



2000 
  

7 
  

22

Roads

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes have been made in the provision of winter snow clearance cover resulting from the appointment of new contractors to manage the maintenance of the trunk road network, broken down by contract area.

Sarah Boyack: The winter maintenance specification, and level of service in the Scottish Executive contracts with the new trunk road Operating Companies, remains unaltered from that provided in the previous contracts.

  The Executive held a conference at Victoria Quay on 25 September entitled "Ready for Winter – Winter Maintenance on Scotland’s Roads". The conference, which was attended by representatives from the Operating Companies, local authorities, the police, motoring organisations and other winter maintenance professionals, enabled the Executive to bring all those involved together to discuss issues relating to winter maintenance in order to provide the best possible service to the travelling public this winter.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent by each of its departments on television advertising in each of the last three years and this year to date, broken down by the television areas covered by (a) Grampian TV, (b) STV and (c) Border TV.

Mr Tom McCabe: Spend by department on television advertising in each of the last three years is listed in the table. Breakdown by television areas is not held centrally and cannot be collected without disproportionate cost.

  


1998 


Scottish Office 




Department 
  

Campaign 
  

Spend 
  



Home 
  

Domestic Abuse 
  

£270,715 
  



Home 
  

Fire Prevention 
  

£164,312 
  



Health 
  

Nursing Recruitment 
  

£169,670 
  



Education 
  

Childrens Panels 
  

£70,500 
  



Historic Scotland1


Historic Scotland 
  

£112,868 
  



Development 
  

Road Safety 
  

£308,862 
  



Constitution Group 
  

Scottish Parliament 
  

£434,750 
  



1999 


Scottish Office/Scottish Executive 
  




Department 
  

Campaign 
  

Spend 
  



Justice 
  

Domestic Abuse 
  

£301,978 
  



Justice 
  

Fire Prevention 
  

£143,753 
  



Development 
  

Road Safety 
  

£425,365 
  



Constitution Group 
  

Scotland’s Parliament 
  

£280,108 
  



Historic Scotland1


Historic Scotland 
  

£148,649 
  



2000 


Scottish Executive 




Department 
  

Campaign 
  

Spend 
  



Justice 
  

Domestic Abuse 
  

£315,010 
  



Health 
  

Flu Vaccination 
  

£175,864 
  



Health 
  

Prepare for Winter 
  

£208,833 
  



Health 
  

Alcohol Abuse 
  

£174,487 
  



Development 
  

Road Safety 
  

£770,910 
  



Historic Scotland1


Historic Scotland 
  

£260,746 
  



2001 to Date 


Scottish Executive 




Department 
  

Campaign 
  

Spend 
  



Development 
  

Road Safety 
  

£395,834 
  



Development 
  

Travel Awareness 
  

£307,188 
  



Environment and Rural Affairs 
  

Environment 
  

£302,016 
  



Health 
  

Flu 
  

£195,309 
  



Education 
  

Teacher Recruitment 
  

£238,054 
  



Justice 
  

Domestic Abuse 
  

£35,563 
  



Justice 
  

Fire Safety 
  

£65,581 
  



  Note:

  1. Historic Scotland is an agency of the Scottish Executive.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each department spends in its catering budget on fair trade products, expressed also as a percentage of total expenditure for each department and of overall Executive catering expenditure.

Angus MacKay: The Executive’s catering is handled by external contractors. Information on spending by those contractors on particular brands or products is not held by the Executive.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is its policy to purchase fair trade products, where appropriate.

Angus MacKay: The Executive’s policy is that all procurement should be on the basis of value for money, in the interests of the taxpayer. The Executive does not routinely purchase the types of product which are available under "fair trade" schemes. Where such products are purchased, fair trade brands may be selected where they offer value for money for the taxpayer.

Special Educational Needs

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement by the Deputy Minister for Parliament in the debate on Special Educational Needs (Borders) ( Official Report , Col. 3222), from which allocations under the Excellence Fund the virement of £358,000 has come, specifying the sums involved.

Mr Jack McConnell: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-17989 on 14 September 2001, which sets out full details of the virement proposals, and I would particularly highlight the fourth paragraph which clarifies the position with the Inclusion Programme.

Television

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of (a) Scotland and (b) the Highlands and Islands has access to digital TV coverage.

Allan Wilson: This is a matter for the Independent Television Commission and I have asked them to write to you with the information requested.

Television

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what conditions must be satisfied before analogue TV transmission is switched off and when this is expected to occur.

Allan Wilson: In the White Paper A New Future for Communications , the UK Government has set out tests which must be met before the analogue signal is fully switched to digital. Everyone who currently receives analogue television now must be able to receive the main free-to-air channels digitally. The target timetable for switch over is between 2006 and 2010.

Tourism

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the economic impact of spending on retail products by tourists.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Latest available figures on the economic impact of tourist expenditure on retail products are from the 1998 Scottish Input-Output Tables, published by the Scottish Executive in June 2001.

  The total direct expenditure on retail products by tourists was £140 million in 1998. The additional Scottish output related to this expenditure was estimated at £85 million.

  Expenditure on retail products has been defined as purchases of Scottish made products (Input-Output groups 1 to 84, see www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/docs/io98.pdf for more details) and Scottish retail margins on both domestic output and imports.

Tourism

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to complete its review of A New Strategy for Scottish Tourism and whether, as part of that review, any current specific lack of reference to the retail sector will be addressed.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: The review will be completed by the end of the year. The Scottish Retail Consortium has contributed to the review. The outcome will highlight the central role that tourism businesses, including retail businesses, have in the continuing development of tourism.

Tourism

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what parts of A New Strategy for Scottish Tourism relate to the retail sector.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: All of the actions contained in A New Strategy for Scottish Tourism , which relate to better marketing, improvement in quality and skills, and increased useage of IT will encourage additional visitors to come to Scotland. Additional visitors will benefit all businesses that depend on tourism, including retail businesses.

Water Industry

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the Strategic Review of Charges in the Scottish Water Industry.

Ross Finnie: Last month, the Water Industry Commissioner for Scotland, Alan Sutherland, submitted advice to me as a result of his Strategic Review of Charges. This advice is set out below.

  After careful consideration, I have decided to accept the commissioner’s advice. The commissioner has also made a number of further recommendations, with which I am broadly content and on which I will take forward discussions with him. The commissioner has a legal duty to publish his advice and ministers' response to it and has made the full text of all the relevant material available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

  The advice I have accepted is as follows:

  i) Revenue Cap for the three Scottish water authorities

  The revenue cap profile for the three Scottish water authorities in the event that the Scottish Parliament does not approve Scottish Water is given in Table 1.

  Table 1: Revenue cap for the three Scottish water authorities

  


Water Authority 
  

Projected Revenue
  2001-02
  (£ million) 


2002-03 
  

2003-04 
  

2004-05 
  

2005-06 
  

Total Increase 
  



Actual 
  

Real 
  



East 
  

249.3 
  

11.8% 
  

10.3% 
  

11.9% 
  

2.7% 
  

41.7% 
  

28.4% 
  



North 
  

232.0 
  

12.4% 
  

11.4% 
  

6.0% 
  

2.5% 
  

36.0% 
  

23.2% 
  



West 
  

352.2 
  

10.5% 
  

11.9% 
  

14.3% 
  

2.3% 
  

44.6% 
  

31.0% 
  



  ii) Revenue cap for the proposed single authority, Scottish Water

  The revenue cap profile for Scottish Water in the event that the Scottish Parliament approves this initiative is given in Table 2.

  Table 2: Revenue cap for the proposed single authority, Scottish Water

  


Water Authority 
  

Projected Revenue 2001-02
  (£ million) 


2002-03 
  

2003-04 
  

2004-05 
  

2005-06 
  

Total Increase 
  



Actual 
  

Real 
  



Scottish Water 
  

825.91


7.5% 
  

7.8% 
  

4.6% 
  

(1.3%) 
  

19.6% 
  

8.4% 
  



  Note:

  1. Projected 2001-02 revenue for the proposed Scottish Water differs from the sum of the projected revenues from the three existing authorities because of inter-authority trading

  iii) Harmonisation of charges

  Charges should be harmonised across Scotland for both the domestic and non-domestic customers, by no later than 2005-06.

  iv) Cost reflective tariffs

  Scottish Water should seek to develop tariffs that more broadly reflect the economics of the service provided. This will require that the fixed element of the charge faced by customers increases significantly from the current level.